World’s first family to move into 3D-printed house

In a world first, a family in France has moved into a 3D-printed house. The prototype property consists of four bedrooms and is an effort to speed up housebuilding and assist affordability

The 3D-printed house uses curved walls to reduce the effects of humidity and digital controls for disabled people to enhance accessibility.

The home took 54 hours to print – with four additional months for contractors to include things such as windows, doors and the roof – and costs around £176,000 to build which makes it 20% cheaper than an identical construction using more traditional solutions.

The team now say they could print the same house again in only 33 hours.

The printed home is the result of collaboration between the city council, a housing association and the University of Nantes.

Francky Trichet, the council’s lead on technology and innovation, states the purpose of the project was to ascertain whether this type of construction could become mainstream for housing, and whether its principles could be applied to other communal buildings, such as sports halls.